Ivan Kanivets's textbook on film and television directing.
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About the textbook
The paper "Variant Cinema: Directing Screen Works with Changing Plots" offers a new perspective on variability as the possibility of a screen work to exist in several versions, which is a new technology of directing in the visual arts. According to this interpretation, variability can be used to expand the possibilities of forming a dramatic conflict, deepening the characters of the characters in screen works, and discovering new features of artistic images.
The author considers the possibility of variability's influence on the genre features of a screen work. The author shows the trends in the evolution of variability from the moment of its appearance to the present day. The author presents a promising concept of using variability in a screen work.
Recommended as a textbook on film and television directing in higher education institutions, as it contains methodological guidelines for working on contemporary film and television projects. For students and professionals in the field of cinema and television and for anyone interested in this topic.
Recommended for publication by the Academic Council of the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Theater, Cinema and Television
(Protocol No. 11 of December 26, 2017).
Ukrainian State Film Agency about variability
In the fall of 2014, the State Film Agency of Ukraine, when announcing the Seventh Call for Projects to form a program for the production and distribution of films in 2015-2016, put forward a new condition:
"When submitting a film project aimed at a wide audience, the subjects of the production system should provide documents confirming the interest of national TV channels and film distributors in participating in the creation of the film, the marketing strategy and production vision of the film project should include the concept of creating a television version of the film."
Thus, the State Film Agency of Ukraine suggests using variation to create versions of a film with different running times. For more details, see the manual.
About the author
Ivan Kanivetsis a film director, lecturer at the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Theater, Cinema and Television, member of the Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine.
He was born in 1978 in Kyiv.
In 2001, he graduated from the National Technical University of Ukraine "KPI", Faculty of Aerospace Systems.
In 2010, he graduated from the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Institute of Cinema and Television, Department of Directing.
In 2010, he graduated from the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Theater, Cinema and Television, Institute of Screen Arts, Department of Directing.
Since 1998, he has worked in television and film.
Since 2009, he has devoted his creative activity to covering the events of the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-1921. He combines experimental methods of plotting with the latest computer technologies for creating and processing images.
In particular, in the film "Ukrainian Revolution, memories of Vseolod Petriv" the time of the footage that has undergone such processing is over 90 percent, which is an extremely high figure not only for Ukrainian cinema, but also for world cinema.
See more about the work on the first part of the film in the 2012 interview (in Ukrainian):
Since 2016, he has been working on the first Ukrainian documentary in 3D.
Director of the films: "Light for the World" (2004), "Ukrainian Episodes" (2008), "Another Place" (2009), "Neptune's Trident" (2010), "Ukrainian Revolution, memories of Vseolod Petriv" (2012—2015), the first Ukrainian documentary project in 3D format "Generation of Freedom" (in progress), etc.
Reviews
The book reveals the vision of variability formed as a result of a retrospective look at the history of cinema and the analysis of many films, and shows its philosophical basis.
The evolution of variability as a creative tool is examined using well-known examples from the history of cinema. The author has developed a classification of forms and types of variable films by functional feature and structure, and has provided a detailed explanation of them.
The approach to interactivity proposed in the book is based on the needs of directing and dramaturgy. In addition to analyzing the material provided by domestic and foreign films, the author also addressed the problem of the impact of interactivity and variability on television projects.
The author highlights the connection of the topic with the latest technical achievements in the field of cinema and television, in particular with 3D technologies, virtual reality, and Internet-based interactivity.
…
The book describes the methods of applying variability, offers methods of building a dramatic conflict, its composition and decomposition, means of building characters, directorial techniques for realizing dramatic tasks, highlights the features of the filming process and marketing approach when creating new screen works. The holistic vision of the problem and the author's practical recommendations for working with the latest creative tools will contribute to improving the quality of training and innovative development of industry professionals.
L.V. Starodubtseva, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Head of the Department of Media Communications at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University.
The material presented allows us to realize variability as a creative phenomenon, to trace its development from the moment of the appearance of cinema to the present day. The author was able to substantiate the combination of philosophical factors, dramatic features of individual films, creative directorial means, and cinematic and television technologies into a single system that allows us to put the production of modern interactive screen works on a scientific basis.
An important feature of the textbook is the application of the proposed methods to work with films where interactivity is impossible or inappropriate for technical reasons. Thus, almost any modern film and television project can be covered by the author's techniques. The manual emphasizes the advantages of using the latest creative tools in a domestic creative product.
K.I. Stanislavska, Professor of the Department of Stage and Audiovisual Arts at the National Academy of Managerial Staff of Culture and Arts, Doctor of Arts, Professor.
Навчальний посібник Івана Канівця «Варіативне кіно: режисура екранних творів з сюжетами, що змінюються» потрапив до моїх рук не випадково. Я знала, що Іван готує його до друку і була рада, коли незабаром він побачив світ. Відверто кажучи, ніколи не думала, що читання навчального посібника виявиться для мене таким цікавим заняттям. Наукова праця І.Канівця захопила майже з першої сторінки. Вразила своєю простою і легкою мовою, не обтяженою науковими термінами і разом з тим наповненою сучасним науковим і практичним мисленням режисера-практика і викладача-теоретика. Варіативне кіно для автора цієї книги – це майбутнє світового кінематографа і разом з тим вже сьогоднішній, а в деяких випадках і вчорашній день у практиці кіно. Широта мислення, величезний фактаж і особлива здібність до аналізу мистецьких кінотворів у конкретних випадках, тобто окремо взятих фільмах, – ось що особливо вирізняє творчий дух цієї книги. Переводячи читача своєї книги від глави до глави, автор захоплює своєю науковою темою «варіативного кіно» і наводить унікальні приклади, яким чином це явище формувалося в надрах світової практики екранних мистецтв: як кінематографічних, так і телевізійних. Але ще цікавішими стають його прогнози і подекуди мрії, що спираються і на нову практику Інтернету, якщо дозволено мріяти автору наукового мистецтвознавчого твору.
Та найцікавіше інше. Не встигла я перегорнути останню сторінку книги, як до мене зателефонували мої молоді колеги, які знімали дебютний фільм на нашій студії «ВІАТЕЛ». І питали поради: чи можна один і той же фільм, тільки різного хронометражу подавати на два різних кінофестивалі? Відповідь моя була негайною: «Можна – і це буде феномен варіативного кіно: один фільм – продюсерська версія, а інший – режисерська. Це вже стає світовою практикою. І про це написано в науковому посібнику Івана Канівця: «Варіативне кіно: режисура екранних творів з сюжетами, що змінюються». А хто буде сумніватися – нехай дивляться світові шедеври і читають розумні книжки».
H.I. Kryvorchuk,, Director of the "VIATEL" Studio
English 
Українська